Short Summary

The small Danish harbour of Gedser was recently the scene of two particularly dramatic escapes.?

Description

The small Danish harbour of Gedser was recently the scene of two particularly dramatic escapes. July 25 four people jumped into the harbour from the "Seebad Albeck", an East German holiday boat which recently began a daily run across the Baltic to Denmark.

East German tourists are not allowed to land in Denmark - although the "Seebad Albeck" stays in harbour two or three hours - but the family of four - a Czech professor of biochemistry from Prague, his wife and two sons, aged 3 and 6, - were lucky...They were soon pulled up on to the quay by watching Danes and taken to a Copenhagen police station where they applied for political asylum.

Only the day before there was a similar escape from the same ship in Gedser. Another Czech biochemistry professor from Prague escaped when he jumped into the harbour with his wife, his three young children, and his mother-in-law. The two families are reported to have panned their escapes together.

Following the two escapes, Gedser harbour officials have moored rafts and rowing boats along the quay-side. Refugees will now have a shorter distance to swim if they jump from the "Seebad Albeck".